Comments on: On the Sidelines

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:13:59 +0000

Greetings to all LFC fans.
Our bench is not all that impressive compared to that of Chelsea and Man City but is @ par with arsenal and better than man.u. If we have almost the same bench like man u, then how come that they seem to do more with what they have than us?
I would also prefare to see Spearing instead of Lucas, Jay shd be given chance b4 he changes his mind……..

By: MoKo

MoKo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:07:47 +0000

When i did research for this article I was quite surprised to find that the Man U bench was as “weak” as it is. they don’t have the quality on the bench that Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City can boast but one quality theydo have is they are pretty much all dependable for a decent performance.

Our bench isn’t able to offer that to Rafa. I don’t think he can ever be sure what he’s gonna get from a sub coming on. One week it will be a match winning performance the next i will be absolutely nothing.

By: Drew

Drew — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:33:06 +0000

When Aquilani comes back, we will still have the same depth, bc Lucas is shite. It’s hard to find players that are willing to sit on the bench for the betterment of the team. I’d prob throw on Spearing and Riera. Babel has been crap so far, Ayala is too yound and defensive. I may think about Voronin. Did well against Villa setting up that goal

By: Manny

Manny — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:29:33 +0000

Thats a solid point MoKo, the players on the bench all have the raw talent to be really good players.

From what I have read about Rafa though, the man is said to be quite good at developing players and one wonders why it is that some of our bench players have just not developed at all.

By: MoKo

MoKo — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:16:36 +0000

Don’t get me wrong I would welcome a second top notch striker to Liverpool with wide open arms. I just don’t see how it’s possible with our resources. At the same time it’s not a pressing need as we can make a plan as Manny refers to the musical chairs. It’s not ideal but it is a plan.

I am an advocate for N’gog. I feel he must just develop some more strength and pick up 2 go-to moves he’ll do just fine.

Babel can also play striker. His pace will always cause problems and though we don’t see it often he is a decent finisher. He must just work on how he receives the ball. He negates all his pace by constantly stopping the ball when he receives it. He must learn to push the ball.

But in general our bench could be a little better. and the difference isn’t necessarily getting new players in but turning the ones we have into the players we need. A lot of the players on that bench should really be giving more to the team.

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:52:22 +0000

I know MoKo will disagree with you there Manny about the need for another striker to cover for Torres as MoKo believes N’gog is good enough for the job.

I would love to see another quality striker on the bench but truth be told, there are not many strikers who would be willing to sit on the bench knowing that they will NEVER start as long as Torres is fit. JAK (Just Ask Keane!)

With regards to Pacheco, I want to see him get runs for the first team but he is way behind the pecking order as he is a second striker and not an out and out striker. The man I wanted to see this season was Nemeth but he has now been loaned out to Greece for the season so hopefully he will be a regular there and get some much needed game time.

There is no denying that our bench is thin but we have to make do with what we have. Let us just hope that we do not suffer any serious injuries this season or else we are f*****!

By: Manny

Manny — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:20:02 +0000

Liverpool’s first XI are definitely world beaters but as you point out MoKo, the bench is not likely to send shudders through the rest of the Premier League. The bottom line is that we cannot afford to have a decent bench. Chelsea, Man City and to an extent Spurs do have the financial resources to have 16 to 20 quality players in the team.

If we are to make do with what we have this means Rafa needs to bring in affordable yet decent replacements on the bench. We won’t talk about Babel, Lucas and Voronin because as you say, that has been debated to death! But in my opinion the only decent subs we have are Agger, Insua and Riera, these are players who won’t look out of place starting in a big game. Thats two defenders and a left winger. The biggest problem we have on the bench is that there isn’t a decent striker who can come in for Torres. I know that we can play positional musical chairs and move Kuyt up front, Yossi to the right and Riera to the left, but I would still love to see someone who can just step in for Torres wthout Liverpool having to switch around other personnel. I am very keen to see Pacheco play in the first team for this exact reason. This may be controversial but had we signed Owen I think that would’ve been good business for us. Anyone know where Viduka is? He may be another option.